Ending 2017 with Celebration and Reflection

The 2017 Editors Victoria Christmas party was held in the private dining room at CQ Functions on a sweltering Thursday evening, where 44 attendees gathered to celebrate another year of doing the good work.

Pre-dinner entertainment was provided by our own AJ Collins (vocals) and her husband, Chris, on guitar. Their smooth grooves and funky beats created the perfect relaxed vibe as editors new and old caught up over a drink and dips.

After dinner we were treated to special guest Fiona Scott-Norman (writer, performer, radio broadcaster and teacher) who delivered a humorous perspective on the importance, or otherwise, of punctuation. Hands were raised to admit to having dumped someone due to their grammar; misspelled tattoos were displayed on screen in their permanent glory (no regerts!); and errant apostrophes on grocery boards brought a round of groans.

It was concluded that yes, of course, punctuation and grammar are important, and we as editors are like the elders retaining ancient wisdom against a torrent of chaos – we are like Gandalf on the bridge not allowing our author’s use of apostrophes to pass.

But we know that it’s easy to judge people on their spelling and grammar and deem ourselves as superior (hello Twitter). We have the benefit of education and of brains that are inclined this way.

As Fiona recounted events in her own life and relationships, she suggested that maybe perfect control over the intricacies of em dashes is not always of the greatest importance. We understand perfectly well that the grocer means to communicate plural oranges, not possessives. Wordy bookworms can enjoy healthy, happy relationships with non-readers. A child longing for letters from home might not mind if their mother’s spelling isn’t up to scratch.

And did you know that Christmas cracker jokes are deliberately awful, to unite people in judgement? They’re so bad they’re inclusive – no one is left out of the joke.